r/RustAndRadiation

To those not familiar this is one of THE BEST attempts at revitalizing original SoC and the production value is insane. Check it out!

I have just watched that trailer and it kinda irritates me, that they got rid of pixel graphics. What do you guys think? Any fans in here?

First one was great except for the final mission. That really annoyed the D outta me.

Did one of you guys write this?

I've come here from the Stalker sub. Assuming you're a friendly faction. I'm going to reach for a Metro question - don't shoot....

Played all three games, loved all three, *but never played the DLCs*. I don't have much free time, so which ones should I focus on?

I'll put the question here on this table and back away.

u/WizardofWaffle dropped a Zonecore story in here which I will catch up with, but it inspired me to mention a child of the r/Stalker sub, r/TheZoneStories. Some great stuff, some standalone, some multi-part, some dramatised actual play...

When browsing through the main Stalker sub, I found myself seeking out these stories, where the author stays in character as though in a fireside retelling.

Some good stuff you've got there, r/TheZoneStories. Some pretty good shit.

Edit: have we got a list of friendly subs that we recommend on the about pages - Stalker, Fallout etc?

I searched the sub and didn't see this posted before. I bet a lot of you have seen it, but those who haven't might enjoy it. I know I do.

1864 AD
Kleinsville Anomalous Area 
1 year after the destruction of Scylios
Colonel Lawrence Balthazar

** **I take a long, greedy drag of my cigarette, held between my fingers. I  had just situated myself in an elegant bar. Well, it was elegant for a Hunter bar. I had been waiting for my confidants who were out in the bazaar of a little town called Hunter’s Respite gathering supplies. A jaunty tune was playing on a box that I had personally never seen before. A genre of music I was not entirely accustomed to… No. The bar itself was rather empty, which was fairly typical for midday… No bar flies when the only time you could work in this dreaded cesspit was during the daylight. The bartender was a curious fellow. His entire form was wrapped in coats, and fur. I couldn’t tell who exactly this fellow was, but the gas mask he insistently wore took the place of his features. A real stand up gentleman, if I were to say so myself. He ever so clichely wiped the table down with a wet rag, and he spoke to me in a very thick accent.
“Hey, my friend! I couldn’t help but notice you don’t have a drink in your hand! Heheh… Come on, how about Ol’ Dyatlov gives you a splash, huh? You just came into town, after all! The boat ride gives anyone a thirst!” 
I smirk ever so slightly, yes the gentlemen was quite right. I was very exhausted from my journey to this place. It was funny, it was only about a 30km trot to this settlement, and yet it felt like it had taken us an eternity… Still, though, I was in need of my sober mind, so I politely declined. 
“No, my dear friend, as much as I’d love to indulge, I mustn't.” 
The man only chuckles, and without consent, he places two small shot glasses down, and an unmarked bottle. He uncorked the horrifying bottle, and poured from it a liquid of clear color. I couldn’t contain myself, I was in such a lively mood after all. I chuckle as I shake my hands, insisting he stops!
“No, no, my friend! I really can't!"
“Ohhh, come on! On the house! Do you know how many have made it to this place? 32, and that’s including your crew! You oughta celebrate, hunter! You made it! Enjoy it while it lasts, ‘cause it doesn't get any easier from here on out!”
“Ah… Well, if it’s on the house…” 
I roll my eyes, a stupid grin still plastered on my face. Yes, I was feeling quite jubilated, our merry band of misfits had just crossed a monumental checkpoint. I grab the shotglass between my fingers, and give the barman a cheer. He pulls his gasmask back, just enough to reveal the fuzzy face of a Tabaxi, and downs the liquid. I follow suit, and to my utter horror, I feel a thousand burning suns all simultaneously punching me right in the face as I slam the shotglass down on the ground. I cough erratically, my fist covering the spittle as my cheek turns a deep cherry red.
“Ahahaha! First time tasting Dyatlov’s brew, hits harder then your first sweetheart eh? Congratulations on losing your virginity a second time my friend!” 
He leans over the counter and pats me hard on the shoulder, before pulling his mask down. Already, the toxic tincture I had ingested had me reeling through the 9 hells. He continued.
“I didn’t get your name, by the by!” 
How the hell was he able to down that elixir with zero reaction? I shake my face and introduce myself to him, even if the man I was talking to was now blurring.
“Gahhh..” I painfully exert, my breath strong enough to catch on fire “Lawrence… Colonel Lawrence Balthazar of the Grand Army of Scylios. I am here with my comrades Newman, Rutger, and General Khor…” 
Dyatlov grunted, trailing off into an uncomfortable whine as he heard the words “Scylios”. He rapped his fingers. His expression was unreadable, perhaps it was on purpose, but he spoke.
“Shit… the General Khor? Savior of Scylios? What the hell is a man like that doing here?” 
I didn’t say anything, my own expression began to sour at the mention. Scylios was still a very sore subject. There were not a lot of survivors of the Scylios disaster. I myself was with Colonel Rutger, and General Khor, escorting our King back to our city when we heard the explosion. It was still a very raw memory, but none were more perturbed than General Khor. The man who broke the bonds of slavery, and rose up against his oppressors. Valiantly defending Scylios against waves of warforged and the best Handelshaffen had to offer, and in a single pen stroke, everything he fought for, everything he sacrificed for, was erased from existence faster than a blink of an eye.  I decided to answer Dyatlov’s question with another question.
“Tell me, when you lose everything and you don’t even know why, what other choice do you have but to look for answers in the unexplainable?” 
Dyatlov stared into my eyes for a few moments, and shrugged
“I guess that’s fair… Sheesh. Free drinks for all of you, tonight.” 
I once again smiled, and declined the offer. The door to the small bar swung open, heavy footsteps following the incursion. In walked a half elf, with a tan coat, and a large backpack. His black hair was thinning, and a perpetual stubble seemed stuck to his face. All over his body were relics— spawn of the Collapse, tethered to him like idols, or icons. A bushy moss ball, a crystal star, and even a worn plush of a little baby chick. I smiled upon seeing my friend, and he in turn smiled back! 
“Katyosha!” 
I say gleefully, raising my empty shot glass, his eyes fixed upon it.
“Oh jeeze… Hey, Dyatlov, you already making him slug your garbage?” 
He says as he extends his hand, shaking Dyatlov’s
“Heyyy, look who the Kat dragged in eh? It’s so good to see you again my friend! Whaaaat… you too busy to come in and drop in on your old pal? Bah!” 
Dyatlov nearly pulled Kat over the bar to embrace him in a brotherly hug. Kat chuckles and pats him on the back, before prying himself away.
“I know— Dyatlov, I know! Halcyon just keeps me so damn busy, but these guys paid me decent money to take them here, and map out some territory to the southeast!” 
Kat sat down next to me, his chair creaking. A stroke of luck, Katyosha was, he was the most knowledgeable of the collapse, and we both wanted to go to downtown Kleinsville. Our cooperation has made the task almost trivial, well, at least relatively. He tapped his fingers on the bar table, and soon enough, Kat was given a shot glass full of the deceptive biohazard, downing it with a deep groan, a curled fist, and a physical reaction bordering on a complete seizure. Dyatlov and I laughed at the display, an uneasy smile growing on Kat’s face. 
“Ahah.. Alright, alright… Balthazar, buddy, just wanted to tell you that we’re staying the night here. Your boys should be coming back soon, I think they’re just negotiating for some ammunition from the gun gal…” 
He rocked the shot glass against the table, fidgeting. Kat was a curious sort. He had lived in Halcyon all his life, and in that time he had become something of an everyman. If you had a problem? You go to Kat, because he knows how to fix it. If you want someone to scout a dangerous anomaly field? You go send Kat, because he knows how to navigate it. If you want fresh food? You better see Kat, because he’s the only person who can hunt game in the collapse. He was affectionately known as “The First Hunter”, for he was the first one to lead Xivian expeditions into Kleinsville, and he was the first to discover relics and bring them forward. He was the first to live the ever growing lifestyle of plunging headfirst into danger and pulling out a rucksack full of ill gotten goods by your teeth as you crawl and weave through anomaly fields like a man who has nothing left to lose, though if you asked him why he did all of this, he’d tell you he did it for his family, who elected not to stay with him in Kleinsville, despite the go back orders. 
After a while of talking, and some mugs of ale freely given to us, the door creaked once again. The others in our group had turned up. Newman, Rutger, and Khor meander their way through. Newman dressed very traditionally, even though the Grand Army of Scylios was far from grand nowadays, he still wore his platemail armor with pride. Rutger wore something more practical, but still wore the blue colors of Scylios. Khore, the tallest of all of us half-orcs, wore his general's uniform, excluding his cap. Apparently, Khor and Katyosha had something of a shared history… During the Great War where Xivia liberated Kleinsville and helped the orcs take Scylios, a much younger first corporal Alenko led a battalion in a counter offensive after the great siege of Scylios. Two great men, once sharing a battlefield, were now in the armpit of a lowly tavern at the proverbial end of the world, both with no homes, or anywhere to go back to, sharing a new cause, rebuilding their lives. Khor spoke, breaking the idle chatter and greetings.
“Men.” 
His tone was deep, commanding, and powerful. His voice had an effect on people, anyone who was fortunate enough to be guided by him had the pleasure of following his orders. There was a certain legendary conviction in each and every syllable he spoke, and he never talked down to you either. With Khor, you were a part of his team, and he knew it. When he spoke, you knew he spoke from the heart, and with you in mind. 
“Tomorrow we embark towards the epicenter of Kleinsville. Tomorrow we will search for the power within the city to bring stability to our homes. We have lost so much already, and the road will only get tougher from here on out, but I have faith in each and every one of you. If you have any doubts of our success, or feel as if the risk is not worth the reward, then I urge you to turn back, for your efforts will be better suited to helping our brothers and sisters in New Scyo, but if you are strong of heart, if you believe in this cause, and you have fire in your soul, then you will stick with me, and together, we will kick open the gates of the hells itself to wrestle salvation from the jaws of evil!”
He slams his mug firmly down on the table, eliciting a unanimous response from Newman, Rutger, and I. We raise our mugs and scream…
“Yes, General Khor!”
And he raises his mug in turn.
“Fantastic!” 
And we all take a hearty drink. Colonel Rutger wipes a fine film of foam off his upper lip, and asks a poignant question, in that same airy almost arrogant tone for someone of his young age
“So, my general… What’s the plan?” 
Khor, with his wizened manner, bowed his head towards Kat, who, for the moment, had let us revel in the camaraderie unabated. Kat tilted his head up, and laid out the plans for getting downtown.
“Well… I have a friend out in these parts. He’s… special, but he’s got an absolute knack for the Collapse. Kid’s name is Foxglove—”
Newman cleared his throat, interrupting Kat.
“Excuse me, Katyosha…” He spoke softly, politely “I don’t mean to pry, but why do hunters give themselves such… nicknames? I mean, you call yourself Kat, we met Gizmo and Bubba, and now we’re going to meet someone named after a flower?” 
Kat looked a bit confused, and sort of shrugged.
“Iunno… Maybe we just like the anonymity, maybe it just sounds cool… Anywhoseit… Foxglove’s been scouting the southeast for a good long while now. Last I heard from him, he had found something interesting in a place called Golden Wyvern cave— something really spooky. So, we’re going to meet him there and get the scoop.” 
Khor simply nodded in agreement, adhering to Kat’s logic as gospel. Truth was, the southwest led to simply nothing, however, the only known way to get to the downtown was an absolute no go, not only was it dreadfully far away, on the northern edge of the 2nd perimeter we were in, the Entertainment District was supposedly haunted, and those who tread on such hallowed grounds were doomed to stay with the dead forever trapped in the past, so it was safer to chase rumors in that regard. 
“Well, I for one look forward to meeting this fellow, Kat. If he is even one fifth of the explorer as you are, my friend, then he will be nothing but a boon in our conquest!” 
Kat smiled, and nodded, also taking a sip from his mug.
“Oh he’s great, but he’s a little… awkward. He wasn’t a people person before the Collapse, and he’s only ever gotten more squirrely…” 
Khor once again spoke, cutting through the faint stupor we were all drinking ourselves into.
“Let us finish our drinks, and rest my men. Rutger has procured us a place to rest, correct?”
Khor glances at Rutger, with that same steely gaze
“Yeaah… Little house in the town square. No squatters, and there are enough beds for all five of us.”
“Thank you, my son.” 
We finish our drinks, now properly hazed by Dyatlov’s natural remedies, and we exit to the town square. Hunter’s Respite was an interesting little town. Before the collapse it was a trapping and trading town. Even now, old huts for trading pelts, furs and meats still stood, being repurposed for trading and the like. It was difficult for the hunters this close to Kleinsville, mostly due to the scarcity of the population, but what they lacked in outward demand, they more than made up for it in absolute necessity. Believe it or not, people still needed to eat this deep in the collapse, and they would charge you for it. 15 gold for a loaf of bread, 20 for a stick of sausage. Calories were a currency here, and you had to carefully choose how you spent them, because if you burn more calories than you earn gold, you would starve to death, and god forbid any of these slimy traders give you an ounce of clean water or breadcrumbs… because then you’d be in their debt forever. 
The town square wasn’t all that large, and soon enough we found ourselves in that neat abandoned little house. It seemed like a lodge, or hotel of sorts, made completely with logs. There were deer antlers hanging over a fireplace, which we elected to light and warm up, bundled together. The five of us put our hands close to the orangey brilliance. I was curious, so I spoke up.
“So… What was this place, Kat? Some sort of hotel?” 
I turned to the man, who was lazily sipping at the contents of his flask, screwing it back with a delighted sigh. He smiled that same dopey smile that accentuated his dimples, and regaled.
“This place? Oh it was a little lodge run by this really wound up dragonborn. He was all smiles and continental breakfasts to the people that paid him, but he was easily the richest man in town, and he turned his nose up at EVERYONE. Little Snotbag would lose all his money drinking and gambling in the entertainment district, and come back to act like he was some sort of great host. Don’t get me wrong, the dude knew how to make a cozy little lodge, but man he had an ego the size of Mt. Gullhoyden.” 
Colonel Rutger scoffed, a wry smile creeping towards his lips.
“I would have punched his freaking lights out, I hate assholes like that.” 
We all collectively chuckled at the mental image, and we continued to warm up and wait for the sun to dip low. We slept comfortably in the beds that were gently used, and drifted off. When my eyes opened, I stretched. Time seemed to move languidly as I peered outside the window, an eternal oppressive orange glow bleeding onto the town. My ears prickled as a shrill whine penetrated my head. My head began to ache with a familiar sound, what was that…? A baby? It whined just like one… that falsetto scream, demanding, wanting. Anxiety had begun to overwhelm me, the whining sounded as if it was coming from the first floor. I opened the door and tried to yell for my friends, yelling at them to come out, but there was no response. I was completely alone, it seemed. My boots creaked against the wooden floorboards and I opened the doors to their room. Their stuff was arranged, as if they were here, but the beds lacked warm bodies… Maybe I was last to wake? The screaming was unbearable now, I tried to cover my ears, but it seemed as if the screaming was reverberating inside my skull. I groan and run down the stairs, back to that small little lobby where we rested our calloused hands against the fire, the screeching and whining and crying getting LOUDER and LOUDER! Madness! ABSOLUTE MADNESS! I start to hyperventilate, and tears too well in my eyes, obfuscating my vision as I finally find the source. In the middle of the lounge, I see a crib… The horrific cradle from which this deafening sound tortured me so, as I continued to walk down the stairs, I see wires… metal wires… colored wires… wires that hummed… wires that whirred… all descending from the ceiling and into that cradle. Fear had gripped me… pure unadulterated fear, and pain, and yet my feet were moving forward. One foot in front of the over, another step down. The closer I got, the louder the screeching became, until the thing in that cradle stopped taking breaks, it simply held one shrieking note, no breaths taken. Finally I peer over the crib, and I see an unmoving lump hidden under bedsheets. All the wires were connected, running under the sheet. My hands shake as I grip the sheets, and rip them back. I can’t in good conscience describe what I saw. It sickened me to my core. I had never seen anything so profane, so abhorrent. The shrieks had turned into a distant dull metronome of sharp pain as I recoiled at the sight. I double over, and fall to my hands and knees, expelling the contents of my stomach onto the floor below. I see boots in front of me, another living breathing person in this hell?! I see a gloved hand extend, pale and fleshy, and I grab ahold of it. I see the face of Kat, who also had tears in his eyes, though there was no terror painted on his face, just… melancholy. 
Once he brought me to my feet, he slowly walked over to the crib, his footsteps silent, as he reached into the crib, and gently started to coo at it, like a father would a child. He shushed it, he whispered… and his eyes wandered back to me. His eyes were deathly sunken, as if he was sleep deprived, but the screaming slowly stopped, the pain was wavering… I collapse once more, reveling in the sheer relief, and I close my eyes.
When I opened them, I was back in my bed. I coughed as I choked on my own spit, leaning over and grabbing my head. My ears rang, and I could still hear the screaming in my mind's eye, but the pain was completely absent, only the memory of the pain, and that too was slowly fading from my mind. I shake my head, and prepare myself. The sun had now, as it should, gently rose beyond the horizon, bathing the town in a delightful golden hue. I was still clutching my chest, breathing heavily… What was that? That was no dream, that was a vision, and I was sure of it. I had to find Kat. I threw on my uniform, and adorned my metal helmet upon my hat as I ripped open the door to locate the man. I was the first to rise it seems, but not the first to wake. Katyosha, in his room, was tying those boots I had in my dream. He looked at me, and smiled.
“Hey, Balthazar!” He could see the look on my face “You doing alright…?”  
He knew. My hands balled up into fists… I wanted answers. He defensively put his hands up.
“Woah… So it really was you in that vision? Calm down… I… I’ll try to explain it the best I can…” 
I step forward and I press my finger against his chest, hard
“What was that I saw? Why were YOU there? What… What was that awful noise…” 
His face sort of screws up, as he takes a wide step back, leaning against the window pane in his room.
“The Collapse… It’s… it does things to your mind, if you stay in it for too long. If you’re attuned enough, or cursed, you’ll hear it. It cries, like that. It cries a lot. Sometimes it cries harder than other times… But…” 
He scratches his face, and that same melancholy look washes over him, something I haven’t seen outside of that moment. 
“Whatever is in Kleinsville, whatever is in downtown. I don’t think it’s doing all of this on purpose. I think someone is hurting it…”
“That implies that you think Kleinsville is… alive…” 
I skeptically point out the fact that he was humanizing this place, giving it a personality, a face… What I saw, it was no human I’ve ever seen.
“Don’t you see, Balthazar? Kleinsville is alive. It can see inside of us all, it can strip our layers, and it does. It learns from us, and it’s… it’s crying, Balthazar. It’s crying…” 
My chin quivers, what was Kat saying? It barely made sense. He knew what was in the center of Kleinsville? He knew what we were after? I voice my concerns.
“You… know what it is, and… you haven’t told us?”
Kat shakes his head, and waves his arms defensively.
“No, No, NO, man! I don’t know what it is, I’ve only seen it in my visions, and in my dreams… I… I didn’t even know we could share these visions up until now— That’s what we’re here to do, right? To figure out what this is?”
He stepped forward, and he began to animate his body, his arms raising in the air, accentuating his words.
“Maybe Kleinsville holds the key to rebuilding Scylios? Maybe Kleinsville can cure the accursed that wither in refugee camps… Maybe it’s nothing, and all of this is pointless… Maybe it’s EVERYTHING and our universe is contained inside of it? Infinite power? Wealth? Damnation? Death? Who knows!?”
He threw his body this way, and that way, waxing philosophies I could barely understand. My head was starting to hurt again… but he put his hands against my head, holding it tightly as he leaned in. I could see every inch of his face, not a single follicle on his scraggly beard went unnoticed. I could feel the warmth radiating from his skin, and I could smell his sweet breath invading my nose. He leaves me with an ominous warning for things to come
“But by the stars that shine our way. We have to find out, for the sake of my children, for the sake of Scylios… for the sake of everyone…”
He finally lets go, and I feel uneasy. I feel as if I had just performed a very intimate and taboo act with the man. My chin quivered and my legs trembled like that of a scared child, I nodded. He was right. Even though I’d rather smother whatever was in that crib, and silence it forever, he was right. We were all lost, and damned men, everyone in this building was chasing after a faint hope, but when all you have when you’re writhing in a lake of fire in the pits of hell, is but a faint spider web string up to heaven, what else are you supposed to do but grasp at it? Even though you know you it wont hold your weight, even though there are thousands of damned souls behind you stretching and clawing at their chance to climb, even though you know you’re just going to plummet straight back into an eternity of torment, what other option do you have… but to climb? 
“If it truly is… power, if it truly is something that can help our people, you know we will prioritize it over you, right Katyosha?” 
Kat looked uneasy, but he nodded
“I understand that, I just… I just want the best for everyone.” 
I put a hand on his shoulder, trying to bring back that camaraderie that I felt yesterday, and I gently shook him.
“I believe you, Kat. Let’s just… take this one step at a time. We don’t know what it is, so… let’s just keep going as we were.”
His warm dimpled smile returned, and he nodded.
“I… I’d like that a lot…” 
He held out his hand, and I grabbed it, in a moment of solidarity. The rest of our squad was slowly waking up. Rations were being nibbled upon, and coffee brewed over the grills of the fire. The day was young, the sun was driving the night time prowlers away. We readied our guns, and maintained our blades against whetstone, sharpening them to a razor sharp edge that could slash the molecules in the air. Once preparations were complete, the large gang of despots and hopefuls set out from the lodge, and we began our journey to the southeast. Katyosha led the group, naturally, while Khor followed behind. Colonel Rutger and I stayed in the middle, and Newman was covering our rear. Our footsteps were painfully slow, and we all watched our steps. Just because the sun was out, didn’t mean that creatures still didn’t stalk in the treeline. All that could be heard was the crunching of leaves and sticks underneath our boots, and the wind running through the trees. Everyone kept an eye out, everyone watched where their foot went, and where it was going to end up. Kat himself held something in his hands, a handful of bolts with white cloth tied around it. Occasionally he would stop us, and toss a bolt, and watch it intensely. He watched to see if the bolt had flown straight and true. If the bolt deviated even the slightest, if the cloth didn’t fall straight down, if the bolt rusted in mid air or started to disintegrate, he would turn, and toss another. Kleinsville was all types of unforgiving, but anomalies were by far the most dangerous killers… barely visible pockets of air that could fry you, liquify your insides, cause instant heart attacks… nothing fun.
Hunter’s Respite slowly faded in the distance as we continued. Toss, wait, step forward, rinse and repeat until all of our knees are locked up from having to control every single muscle in our body. It was as if we were in a deadly dance, a rapport, a devilish tango where the prize was eternal wealth, and the punishment was death. Kat held his hand up, his chest rising and falling faster. I could hear Newman in the back sheepishly ask.